Avent & Breastfeeding

[jennifer1143]

I have a Medela Pump In Style breastpump & am wondering about using it with storage bags. I hope to use Avent bottles - should I get the Avent storage bags & Avent disposable bottles to freeze milk in? They say the bags will slip right into the bottles...That sounds fairly easy - anyone have any advise? Thanks!

Jennifer

[Momof3Labs]

I use the PIS and Avent bottles, and I pump either into the Medela bottles or the Avent bottles (with the adaptors that you can purchase from Avent). Then I pour the milk into Gerber breastmilk storage bags and freeze. When DH thaws a bag to use, he pours it back into an Avent bottle (although supposedly you can use these bags directly in most disposable bottle systems). This may sound complicated, but actually is pretty simple, especially since the Gerber bags are soooo easy to use. Also, I'm not sure how good the Avent bags are for freezing - you may need to double-bag them, which decreases the convenience significantly.

[Andrea S]

We do the same exact thing here too. I remember I did not like the avent bags, but I cannot remember why. Maybe the freezing thing?

Andrea
mom to Andrew 8/14/02

[liya]

Ditto avent bags are awfull...just imagine after all that work to get your precious milk in the bag and pammmmm:( spill..yikes not a good idea...gerber bags are the best...

[chrissyhowie]

I would hold off on buying a whole lot of bottles just yet. I started off pumping and then pouring the milk into storage bags. (Personally, I like the Lansinoh storage bags -- they have a double ziplock and you can write on them with a ball point pen. Gerber bags are a close second.) This way you can try out a bunch of different bottles and see which one your baby will like. You can also try out the disposable bottle systems as well. I always felt like the bottle was going to leak when I twisted the cap on over the bag so I preferred the reusable bottles.

My DD liked the Avent bottles, but I wish she liked ones that took the standard nipple width. With Avent you have to buy at least one adaptor set in order to pump directly into the bottle to save on washing. The Avent bottles are so darn expensive too! (Thank goodness for ebay!)

Even if you pump into the bottles which you will use to feed your baby, having storage bags are handy. They take up much less space in freezer and thaw much more quickly. I have a pack of storage bags at work in case I forget to bring empty bottles with me in the morning.

HTH,

--Chrissy
Mom to Chloe (1/29/03)

[MinnieMouse]

Another vote for the Gerber bags. I pumped for dd (now 21mo) from 3mo to 12mo and used the Medela PIS, pumped into their storage bottles (and the Evenflo ones I got free from the hospital) and then transferred them to the Gerber bags each night. I had no problem writing on them at all...just used a sharpie marker that I kept in the kitchen.

We used Avent disposable bottles and they worked great. We had a couple regular bottles too, but the disposables were WAY more convenient. When freezing I would freeze each bag flat, then stack them on their side in date order. They thawed quickly in some warm water...either running under the faucet or in a bowl. We only had leakage 2x and that was because dd's daycare substitute teacher didn't tighten the ring enough.

The zippered Lanisoh bags weren't available when I pumped for dd. The Gerber bags are pricey but are available at BRU, Target and Walmart. For everyday pricing, Walmart was the cheapest. BUT Target would do a blowout sale on all their Gerber Feeding Items....making the bags $4.00 a box. I bought EVERY box in stock one sale..was enough to get me through the 3 remaining months I pumped, with one box to spare! :-)

HTH

Christine

[jenmcadams]

I hated the Avent bags (the clips were a pain and you couldn't store more than 5 oz in the bags without worrying about spilling). I like the zippered Lansinoh bags. Avent bottles didn't work for us (we use Gerber New Traditions Wide Mouth), so we always just thawed the milk in the bag and then poured the milk into the bottles.

[casey118]

I have been pumping directly into the Medela CSF Breastmilk bags so that I don't have to transfer from and wash all the bottles. The bags have twist ties so they fasten tightly around the pump and are thick so no double bagging is needed. The bags sit in my fridge and are either used or frozen if I have extras. Are there better bags to pump into? Or am I missing the boat on this how best to pump and store milk thing? Thanks.
Kimberly

[Momof3Labs]

Kimberly,

Do you have any problems closing the bags tightly? I tried one Medela CSF bag and couldn't get the top snug enough to feel comfortable putting it on its side in the freezer, so I went back to my Gerber bags. I do carry the sample pack of Medela bags in my PIS bag, just in case I need an extra container to pump into.

Just curious!

[MinnieMouse]

I HATED the twist ties on the Medela bags. I like the zip locs since I could lay them flat, no leaking, and then store them on their sides.

I pumped into the bottles for tranportation and measuring purposes. I was a low volume pumper and "just" matched what dd was drinking each day. The storage bottles allowed me to measure out precisly what I needed in each bag...I found measuring in the bags to be dependent on how they were sitting on the counter....even a 1/2 oz off was major for me!

HTH

Christine

[casey118]

I have had a couple of minor leaks (and one major leak!), and when the bags sit if the top is somehow touching the milk the milk will creep into the folded part of the bag. I just make sure that I roll the bag tightly against the twist tie and it usually works fine. The bags usually sit in my fridge for a day or two, then I put them in a large freezer ziplock in the freezer (only to keep them contained), so I do not store them flat. I really like that the bags have a spout out the bottom because it makes it so easy to pour them into a bottle without spilling. It is also really convenient to pump directly into the bags, but I admit you have to pay attention or it can get messy.

If I switched to the pump into a bottle method and used ziplock bags to freeze flat, can the bags (either Gerber or Lansinoh) be used in a playtex nurser bottle?

[MinnieMouse]

Gerber says on the boxes that it fits EVERY disposable bottle. So I imagine it would.

When I first started pumping and freezing I sat the bags upright in the freezer and it became a lump of milk. They took SO long to defrost. By laying them down to freeze, it spread the milk out in a thin even layer and took just a minute or two in warm water to defrost. Also the "lump" of frozen milk would get "corners" on it that sometimes would tear....never happened with the flat ones.

AND....storing the flat ones took up way less room in the freezer than the lumps. I froze them flat then stacked them on their sides in date order...so much easier than sorting through lumps looking at dates :-)

Christine

[Denyse]

Avent bags are the pits. I use the disposable playtex nurser bags, double bagged. (Just b/c I'm paranoid about my precious bmilk will leak!) Then when we thaw them, we just pour them into regular Avent bottles. I don't have experience with the Avent disposable nurser bottles but my friend who used them said the bags leaked everywhere.

[casey118]

How do you seal the playtex nurser bags? Do you use this method to freeze your milk as well?
Kimberly